Michael S. Ives

Member

During his initial tenure with the firm, Mike had a diverse banking, commercial, corporate and real estate practice. He represented regional and local banks and savings institutions in a wide range of engagements including regulatory matters, loan closings, loan workouts, title insurance issues, and directors and officers liability insurance contracts and coverage. In addition, he handled or assisted others with various civil litigation matters.

Prior to his return to the firm, Mike served as the President and CEO of two local financial institutions and the Hampton Roads Market CEO for a large regional bank. At his first financial institution of which he was the President and CEO, Mike addressed and resolved numerous existing asset quality, operational and regulatory issues. He worked out numerous troubled loans and pursued a series of legal actions to recover losses to the institution on various matters. At the same time, he took other steps to lower the risk profile of the institution. Through these actions, he developed a close working relationship with federal regulators. When Congress passed new legislation during the 1990-91 recession that increased capital requirements for financial institutions, Mike submitted to his regulators a capital plan that was among the first to receive regulatory approval and among the few to be approved with no additional limitations on the institution’s lending activities.

Later, Mike lead a successful oversubscribed initial public offering for this institution. He negotiated and completed two bank and thrift acquisitions and one deposit acquisition with multiple branch facilities. He planned and managed a successful proxy contest with a previously undefeated prominent activist investor in community banks. Later, he negotiated and closed the sale of this institution to a large regional bank.

Thereafter, Mike served as the Hampton Roads Market CEO for this regional bank until its sale to an even larger bank. In his capacity as Market CEO, he managed the local retail banking and community lending activities for that bank and directly supervised the local legal services received by that bank.

At his second financial institution of which he was the President and CEO, Mike confronted a pending memorandum of understanding for Bank Secrecy Act regulatory issues and had to address various accounting issues that lead to a restatement of its financial results for prior years. Resolving these issues involved substantial cooperative interaction with the applicable regulatory authorities. He then conducted an oversubscribed secondary private offering for this institution. In addition, Mike worked closely with the institution’s counsel, Willcox & Savage, P.C., to deregister the institution as a public company and for the institution to receive regulatory approval to close two of its seven branches, including the institution’s original home office. In 2010, one rating company ranked this institution as the 33rd healthiest financial institution among the 800 financial institutions studied by that company. In 2015, Mike negotiated the sale of this institution, with the closing of this transaction in early 2016.

Mike also served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Employees Retirement System of the City of Norfolk (assets over $800 million by December 31, 2006). During his tenure, the System (a) adopted new corporate governance policies, (b) overhauled its investment policy and its asset manager and supervision policies, procedures and practices, (c) regularly and comprehensively supervised the performance and activities of its investment managers, and (d) placed more specific and detailed requirements on its asset custodian bank for its reporting and execution of the System’s transactions with its asset managers. Through these initiatives, the System increased its financial assets to levels where, for a period of time, the System reduced, and later no longer requested, its annual contribution from the City of Norfolk based on the System’s then existing pension benefit funding status under its accounting and actuarial assumptions and calculations.

Mike has rejoined the firm and will concentrate his practice in the areas of banking, corporate, creditors’ rights and real estate law and will also engage in estate and trust administration.

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